Sabalenka defeated top-seeded Swiatek in two hours and twenty-six minutes to win Madrid for the second time.
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In the Mutua Madrid Open championship match on Saturday, World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka defeated World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to claim her tour-leading third championship of the year. Sabalenka defeated top-seeded Swiatek in two hours and twenty-six minutes to win Madrid for the second time in the last three years and her 13th overall. In their three prior encounters on clay courts, Sabalenka had never defeated Swiatek in a set prior to the final. Less than two weeks prior, they had actually competed in the Stuttgart Open final, with Swiatek prevailing easily 6-3, 6-4 on indoor clay.
“It’s always tough battles against Iga,” Sabalenka said after her win. “She always pushes me to the limits. I really enjoy our battles. Hopefully, we can play many more finals this season.”
Sabalenka, who leads the tour with 29 victories this season, changed that record on Saturday with a fierce performance at Manolo Santana Stadium. Sabalenka won her first championship since taking home her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open at the beginning of February. In the finals of both of Sabalenka’s Madrid championships, the current World No. 1 lost to her. Sabalenka won the title in 2012 by defeating Ashleigh Barty, the current World No. 1.
The first WTA 1000 final between the top two players on the tour since No. 1 was a result of the growing rivalry between Sabalenka and Swiatek. The 2014 Miami Open was won by Serena Williams, who defeated No. 2 Li Na. It is only the third time in the previous 40 years that the No. 1 and No. 2 players have faced off twice on clay in a single season, following the back-to-back finals between Sabalenka and Swiatek in 1984 (Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert at Amelia Island and Roland Garros) and 2013 (Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in Madrid and Roland Garros).
Carlos Alcaraz won the Mutua Madrid Open by defeating German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to win his fifth ATP Masters 1000 championship. The 20-year-old Spaniard is the youngest player to successfully defend an ATP Masters 1000 title since Rafael Nadal at Monte-Carlo and Rome in 2005–2006, joining him as the only back-to-back Madrid champions in tournament history. After playing his first match in Rome, Alcaraz will move up to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings with his 29th victory of the year and 10th tour-level title.
“For me it is so, so special,” Alcaraz said. “To lift the trophy here in Madrid. In my country. It is always special to play and to be able to do a good result here and [being] a champion is so special. In front of my home crowd, my family, my friends. Everyone close to me. For me it is a special feeling that I will never forget.”
